![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Humans of Harker: The value of time
Sahana Narayan reevaluates the way she spends her time
“I learned how to spend time by myself and learned how to be alone. It’s peaceful to not have to worry about anything or worry about what anyone thinks of me all the time, and I think that has made me more confident and shaped me to realize that it doesn’t matter who I am with and that it is ok to be by myself. I’m not saying I’m an introvert, I still like to go out and do things—I just learned how to spend time with myself,” Sahana Narayan (12) said.
April 15, 2019
Dressed in dark grey leggings, a navy blue sweatshirt and black flip-flops, Sahana Narayan (12) leans against the wall with her legs stretched out in front of her. Every so often, Sahana switches between casually munching on her carrots to engaging in a competitive thumb war with herself.
While Sahana’s demeanor is often mistaken as lazy, her friend’s are able to identify and appreciate her relaxed nature.
“I think one of the things I admire most about Sahana that I grow to appreciate even more every school day is that she genuinely works hard,” Sahana’s friend Andrea Simonian (12) said. “When she puts her mind to it she gets it done because she has that work ethic inside of her.”
Despite Sahana’s work ethic in school, she has come to realize how insignificant the extensive amount of time she has spent studying will be in the long run.
“When I was thinking about what I would remember from senior year, I realized I wasn’t going to remember a score on a test or a project, but I was going to remember my friends and the time I spent with them,” Sahana said. “I realized that I was spending so much time over studying for tests that I knew I was ready for.”
Throughout the past couple years, Sahana explained that the reason she studied so much was because she did not have the best studying habits.
Instead of staying focused on the task at hand, Sahana noticed herself getting distracted by her phone and responding to her friends on a variety of social media accounts. Like many high school students, it took a while for Sahana to admit that her lack of focus was preventing her from utilizing her time as productively as possible. But through self reflection and conscious changes Sahana has been able to turn them around to allow herself a more flexible schedule that has brought about a better state of mind.
“I had time to spend time with just myself,” Sahana said. “Even with taking more time to myself, I was doing just fine in school. I think that’s another thing that I learned how to do junior year, I learned how to spend time by myself and learned how to be alone. I’m not saying I’m an introvert, I still like to go out and do things, I just learned how to spend time with myself.”
In addition to learning to spend time alone, Sahana has also learned the importance of living in the present moment. She learned this lesson through the consistent drives she takes through the Saratoga Mountains.
“I think for some reason, it’s just really nice to be in a car by yourself,” Sahana said. “It’s just really relaxing to be alone and blasting the music because in that moment all I am thinking about is driving my car. There isn’t really anything else I think about so it really gives me the opportunity to be on the moment. You’re so focused on driving that everything else kind of just falls away and it forces you to be internally in the present.”
